There were times to criticize President Moon Jae-in. There were times to oppose his views. Not this time, however.

It is a strange feeling to read the March 6 announcement that there will be a third inter-Korean summit in April and that North Korea made a conditional pledge to give up its nuclear weapons and renounce its provocations against South Korea. The announcement also said that North Korea is willing to negotiate with the United States, with a moratorium on missile testing during negotiations. All these are exactly what South Korea and the U.S. have been demanding from North Korea.I am fully aware of the terrible outcome of the two previous summits: the 2000 summit between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korea's Kim Jong-il, and the 2007 summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and again Kim Jong-il.I am assuming that President Moon thoroughly understands the desperate state of North Korea owing to the U.S.-led massive sanctions, which means that Moon should be able to dictate the terms of negotiations for peaceful unification of the two Koreas.Based on my trust that Moon will do exactly that, I would like to propose to everyone inside and outside Korea: Let us give our full support to President Moon for his tireless efforts to bring a peaceful resolution on the Korean Peninsula. Needless to say, the coming April summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea is a critical step in his efforts.There are too many landmines that can trip him over and force him to make the wrong decisions. Moon needs total concentration for his approach to make it work. If we constantly criticize his efforts, chances are greater that he may make a mistake.If there ever was a time, now is the time when all of us unite and hope for the best results from Moon's efforts. Those of us who should not criticize Moon's efforts include not only leaders of opposition political parties in Korea, but all conservatives, all NGOs, all organizations that prospered from exploring issues of the divided Korea, and all Koreans living overseas.Let me explain to you some thorny issues that Moon will have to deal with.One obvious issue relates to nuclear weapons. Ideally, it would be best to get rid of all nuclear weapons in North Korea. However, if for some reason Moon and Kim agree to form a joint commission of the two Koreas to oversee the nuclear weapons of North Korea for the time being, that should also be acceptable. For once in history, Korea may want to be truly an independent, democratic, peace-loving country, without being bullied by two neighboring powers ― China and Japan.Another issue relates to numerous provocative actions and horrible human rights violations that North Korea has carried out to date. Moon may have to agree to overlook these past atrocities. Ideally, all these terrible acts that North Korea has committed should be brought up and punished. However, we are not living in an ideal world. We live in the real world.Insisting on punishing these acts is a deal breaker, and those acts will continue. For long-term security and peace, South Korea has to move on. As economists call it, they are sunk costs that should not affect decisions for maximum benefits in the future. If Moon does not bring up these past atrocities committed by North Korea, accept it, not because it is the right thing to do, but because it will minimize future atrocities North Korea may commit.Still another huge issue is the cost of maintaining peace with North Korea. It will not be cheap. Think this way, however. Many economic studies have calculated that it will cost a huge amount of money if the two Koreas face a sudden unification. A massive transfer of money to the North now is simply a spreading of the one-time cost over many years that will come sooner or later.The optimal approach is not to criticize any costly deal Moon may make with North Korea, but to explore ways to lower costs through, for example, the implementation of cheap labor in the North, joint development projects that can help both Koreas, and more.Note also that the faster the economic development in North Korea, the faster would be the process of democratization and the subsequent desire for peaceful unification on the peninsula.This is a historically pivotal period in the relations of the two Koreas. Depending on how we make decisions, the future can be either disastrous or prosperous. If we have constructive and positive ideas, let Moon hear them. Criticism based on shallow thinking is self-destructive.Let us all be unified and support Moon's efforts to explore the slow and painful unification process that may not come again anytime soon if the current efforts fail.

Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies.